Justin Haley crossed the finish line looking at his first career XFINITY Series victory in just his second start. Rewind it back as the field approached the checkered flag, and you’ll see that Haley made a move below Kyle Larson and Elliott Sadler in what seemed like Haley stealing the victory…but that wasn’t the case once NASCAR made the call.
Before the call came down, Haley came to the line to celebrate his victory. In the long run, he was just practicing his donuts for future races, as NASCAR declared that the No. 24 went below the yellow line to make the pass deeming it illegal and handing the victory over to Larson, by mere inches over Sadler.
Christopher Bell, who spun on pit road early in the race, secured a third-place finish while Ryan Blaney and Kaz Grala rounded out the top five.
Ryan Preece started the race on the pole but his night would begin taking a downfall that would ultimately put him in the garage. Preece apparently hit some debris which put a hole in the radiator ending his night. Meanwhile, it was the Ryan Blaney show up front as the driver returned to where he dominated in February and was putting on another clinic.
On lap 81, the first “Big One” of the night happened when Matt Tifft hooked Austin Cindric and Cindric went around. As Cindric came back up the track, a combination of hitting Tyler Reddick and the tires gripping the track caused Cindric’s car to barrel roll. It flipped a total of two times, landing upright on the apron alongside Joey Gase.
From that point, chaos ensued. On lap 89, Brandon Hightower spun hitting the outside wall collecting Ray Black Jr. and Chad Finchum. The crash by Hightower would be his third DNF in four races.
The final accident of the night would involve a few of the nights favorites and contenders, including Ryan Reed and Cole Custer. The wreck all started when Jeff Green hooked Custer into the No. 90 of Josh Williams. Brandon Jones had nowhere to go as he hit the rear of the No. 00. Ryan Truex made contact with Ryan Reed at the bottom of the track sending Reed through the grass, almost gripping his car and flipping it.
Instead of resulting in a red flag the yellow flag ultimately ran laps down which set up the overtime finish. Larson had a strong run during the final two laps of the race which ultimately sent Chip Ganassi Racing to victory lane for the 17th time.
Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 Unofficial Results
The NASCAR XFINITY Series has another Friday night race next week at the Kentucky Speedway for the ALSCO 300. The race is slated for July 13th and will be shown live on NBCSN at 8 p.m. ET. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.
His favorite tracks on the circuit include Barber Motorsports Park, Iowa Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, and Bristol Motor Speedway.
During the season, Christian also spends time as a photographer with multiple other outlets shooting Monster Energy AMA Supercross, Minor League & Major League Baseball, and NCAA Football.